March 30, 2017
SAN DIEGO -
Game Week Preview
Brown (4-5, 0-3 Ivy League) at San Diego State (7-3, 2-1 MPSF)
Friday, March 31 | 5 p.m. PT | Aztec Lacrosse Field
Live Stats | Watch
San Diego State (7-3, 2-1 MPSF) at Fresno State (7-3, 0-2 MPSF)
Monday, April 3 | 4 p.m. PT | Fresno, Calif.
Live Stats | Watch
Aztec Storylines
* San Diego State will play two games in four days when it plays host to Brown University in a non-conference clash on Friday, March 31, before heading to the Central Valley for a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation showdown at Fresno State on Monday, April 3. Friday's matchup is scheduled for a 5 p.m. PT start, and the first 200 fans in attendance will receive a free Aztec drawstring backpack. Meanwhile, Monday's encounter is slated to get underway at 4 p.m. PT. Both contests will feature live stats and a link to streaming video.
* SDSU is coming off a two-game sweep of conference rivals Saint Mary's and California at home last weekend. The Aztecs toppled the Gaels by a 16-5 count on March 24, before capturing a 14-13 overtime thriller against the Golden Bears on March 26. With the victories, SDSU raised its record to 7-3 on the season, matching its best 10-game start in program history. The Aztecs also opened the 2015 campaign with a 7-3 mark.
* For the weekend, seniors Kristen Hickey and Alex Watson led the Aztecs with five goals each, while freshman Taylor Sullivan racked up three tallies of her own. Hickey also accounted for five ground balls, five draw controls and two caused turnovers in the sweep, while Sullivan picked up six ground balls to go with two caused turnovers and one draw control.
* Against Saint Mary's, SDSU received goals from nine different players, including three apiece by Hickey and sophomore Kirstie Greenlaw, who completed her first career hat trick. The Aztec cause was also advanced by junior Mackenzie Lech, who tied her season-high with four ground balls, while freshman Ryli Quinn posted a game-best four draw controls.
* Two days later vs. Cal, Watson came up big for the Scarlet and Black, notching three goals, including the game-winner with 3:23 elapsed in overtime. Earlier with the Aztecs trailing 13-11, Watson and Sullivan also contributed crucial strikes in the final 72 seconds of regulation to force the extra session. Senior goalkeeper Katrina Reeves played full-time, making 11 saves.
* For their performances, Hickey (defensive) and Sullivan (rookie) earned MPSF Player of the Week recognition for the second time this year. In addition, the two awards give SDSU six conference weekly accolades already this season. Earlier, Hickey (offense) and Sullivan (rookie) received their respective honors on Feb. 6, while Reeves (defense) was selected on Feb. 27, followed by senior Casey Taggart (defense) on March 6.
* Through 10 games, Hickey has been the Aztecs' leading scorer with 21 tallies, highlighted by a four-goal outburst in the season opener against Denver. In addition, Watson has compiled 17 markers of her own, along with fellow seniors Kayla Deitz and Vickie Porter, while sophomore Natalie Peel (13) and Sullivan (11) have compiled double-digit goal totals as well. Entering the week, Hickey tops the MPSF with 14 free position goals and is tied for third in the conference with 27 ground balls. She also ranks fourth in the league with 61 shots, while her 14 caused turnovers is tied for seventh.
* In front of the net, senior Katie Merritt ranks second in the league with a .606 save percentage, while fellow goalkeeper Reeves occupies the fifth spot with an 11.22 goals against average and ranks eighth with a .457 save percentage. Last season, Reeves and Merritt split keeper duties as well, allowing the second-fewest goals in program history (190).
* Sullivan leads the Aztecs' talented freshman class this season with 11 goals on 26 shots, both of which rank sixth on the team. The Annapolis, Md., product is also 5-for-9 on the year in free position attempts and has collected 10 ground balls to go with five caused turnovers. Meanwhile, fellow classmate Morgan Taylor has skimmed the twine with a goal in each of the past five games and leads all SDSU rookies with 13 ground balls, including a season-high four at Oregon on Feb. 11. Not to be outdone, Quinn has cracked the starting lineup in seven of the last eight games, racking up a team-high 17 draw controls.
* Elsewhere, sophomore Jill Haight set a career-high with seven draw controls in the Aztecs' 12-11 win over New Hampshire on March 15, which is tied for fifth on the school's single-game charts. In addition, Reeves shares one of the conference's top performances so far this season with five caused turnovers against Saint Joseph's on March 10. She also tied her personal best with six ground balls in that contest, matching Taggart, who accomplished the feat in the previous game vs. Boston University on March 5. The six ground balls by the two players is tied for second in program history.
* As a team, San Diego State tops the MPSF with an average of 12.30 caused turnovers per game and ranks among the league leaders with 21.20 ground balls (2nd) and 31.40 shots (3rd) per contest. The Aztecs are also 45-for-94 (.479) on the year in free position shots and are 130-152 in clears (.855).
* SDSU has faced Brown on one previous occasion in 2015, winning a 13-12 nail-biter in Providence, R.I. In that contest, the Aztecs trailed 11-6 with 8:45 remaining in the second half, before outscoring the Bears 6-1 down the stretch, including the game-winner by Sophie Koubek with just five seconds to go. SDSU is 1-2 against Ivy League members all-time, including a tough 14-11 setback to Columbia at home earlier this month on March 18. The Aztecs also came short by a 16-9 tally in a 2014 home clash vs. Princeton.
* The Aztecs have captured all five encounters with Fresno State, including an 8-7 overtime win at home last season. In that game, Vickie Porter scored the golden goal on a free position attempt with 2:56 elapsed in the extra session. Last year's contest marked SDSU's closest margin of victory in the all-time series, with the Scarlet and Black winning the previous four meetings by an average score of 16.3-6.0.
* San Diego State was picked to finish sixth in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in 2017, as the league released its annual preseason coaches' poll on Jan. 24. The Aztecs received 28 points in the balloting, which was completed by the conference's nine head coaches. SDSU landed in the sixth position, eight points behind fifth-place UC Davis (36 pts.) and five points ahead of seventh-place California (23 pts). Reigning MPSF champion and NCAA quarterfinalist USC was predicted to defend its MPSF title from a year ago, garnering 64 points and eight first-place votes, while league finalist and NCAA Tournament participant Stanford was pegged for the runner-up slot after netting 56 points and one first-place vote. Colorado, which took third in the conference race last season, was projected for the same finish in 2017 after earning 51 points, while Oregon wound up fourth in the poll with 38 points.
* The program's only coach after lacrosse became the 19th intercollegiate sport at San Diego State in 2012, Kylee White is now in her sixth season at the helm of the Aztecs. She has transformed SDSU's fledgling program to a strong competitor in the MPSF, highlighted by consecutive conference tournament appearances in 2014 and 2015. In November 2016, White was inducted into the London (Ontario) Sports Hall of Fame after becoming the only women's lacrosse player to represent Canada in each of the last three decades. In 1995, she played on the inaugural U-19 Canadian National Team and later served as an assistant for the squad in 2007. White also played for Team Canada at four IFWLA World Cups (2001, 2005, 2009, 2013), helping the 2013 team to a silver medal. A four-year letterwinner at Ohio State, White was a four-time Buckeye scholar-athlete honoree and a Big Ten all-academic performer on three occasions. She co-captained the 2002 squad to an 11-5 record and a runner-up finish in the American Lacrosse Conference, helping Ohio State claim its first NCAA berth. White caused 28 turnovers in 2001 and still ranks among the OSU all-time leaders in caused turnovers and ground balls.
Opponent Notebook
Brown
The Bears rallied from a five-goal deficit to defeat California 14-13 on Wednesday in a neutral-site contest at Aztec Lacrosse Field. Sophomore Carolyn Paletta paced Brown with five goals and four draw controls, while fellow classmate Hafsa Moinuddin added three tallies of her own. Paletta scored the go-ahead goal with on a free position shot with 8:26 remaining, while freshman Emma DeGennaro added some insurance with a strike at the 3:44 mark on another free position attempt. For the season, Paletta leads Brown with 20 goals, while Moinuddin has compiled 19 markers, followed by sophomore Zoe Verni, who has 13 tallies to her credit. In addition, the Bears have received a team-best 27 ground balls from junior Marissa Hudgins, while Paletta has won 27 draws. Junior goalkeeper Mikaela Karlsson has played the majority of minutes this season for Brown, posting a 8.07 goals against average and a .536 save percentage. As a team, the Bears are averaging 10.44 goals, 26.4 shots and 9.67 draw controls per contest while converting a 39.0 percent of its free position shots (16-41). Brown alumna Keely McDonald is now in her 13th season as head coach of her alma mater.
Fresno State
The Bulldogs dropped a 19-6 decision at then-No. 6 Colorado in their last game on March 25. Prior to its showdown with the Aztecs, Fresno State will travel to Los Angeles on Friday to face ninth-ranked USC. The Bulldogs are led by freshman Tiffiny Wallace, who has amassed 30 goals through 10 games, while sophomore Sarah Bloise has found the back of the net on 27 occasions to go with a team-high 11 assists and 39 draw controls. Freshman goalkeeper Laurel Maunder has played the lion's share of minutes for Fresno State this year, posting an 11.41 goals against average and a .481 save percentage. Maunder has also collected 20 ground balls on the season, followed by junior Abigail Bergevin, who has scooped up 18, while sophomore Alex Romanowski has 15 caused turnovers. Collectively, the Bulldogs are averaging 12.2 goals, 25.1 shots and 13.5 draw controls per game so far this season. In addition, Fresno State has connected on 46.6 percent of its free position attempts this year (27-58) and owns a 82.2 percent success rate on clears (134-163). Head coach Jessica Giglio is in her sixth year at the helm of the Bulldog program.